Ocado Trump Tesco On The FTSE

Tuesday, 16th October: The tedious period of weak pay rises for workers in the UK seems to be coming to an end, as new data revealed a 3.1% increase in earnings, excluding bonuses, in the three-month period to August. Prior to the global financial crisis, 4.0% increased in pay growth was the norm, but troublesome periods for the economy led to pay growth slowing to painful lows of 0.5% in 2014. Unemployment held onto its four-decade low of 4.0% in the three-month period to August, however the number of people in work fell by 5,000, swinging in the opposite direction to forecasts of an 11,000 increase. The unexpected news on wage growth also had its positive effect on the pound, which enabled it to reverse some of the Brexit related losses and climb to $1.321.

Two grocers were at opposite ends of the FTSE 100 on Tuesday after a Kantar survey results were released. Ocado rose to the top of the index after the survey revealed a slight increase in market share and 7.5% increase in sales. On the other end of the index was Tesco, down more than 4.0% after the market was informed of it’s shrinking market share. Aldi experienced the largest gain in market share once again, as it jumped up by an impressive 15.1%, followed by Lidl which increased its market share by 10.0%.

Theresa May urged ministers on Tuesday to demonstrate unity and stand by her in order to secure a Brexit deal, as she faces increasing pressure to adjust her strategy for separating from the EU. Her comments surface the day before the EU summit which is due to take place on Wednesday and Thursday, with the aim of coming to an agreement to set out the terms of the UK-EU separation.

At the end of the day, the FTSE managed to curb the damage from the grocers and close 0.43% higher at 7059.